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Elnathan John Makes The 2017 Betty Trask Prize Shortlist

The Society of Authors has announced the 2017
shortlist for the Betty Trask Prize and Awards. This year’s shortlist of six
debut literary novels by authors under the age of 35 includes Elnathan John’s Born
on a Tuesday . The judges said of BOAT: ‘A tough, topical,
directly-written book, devoid of sentimentality, and yet engaging, troubling
and sad. The sense of place is wholly immersive, conjuring the villages and
roads of troubled Nigeria with a deft and effortless touch.’

The judges this year were authors Simon Brett, Michéle
Roberts and Joanne Harris. Commenting on the shortlist, Michéle Roberts said:

'The merchants of gloom keep declaring
that the novel is dead but people do keep on writing them. The entries for this
year's Betty Trask Prize formed a particularly rich and varied collection. The
shortlist features pleasingly original approaches to novel-writing and is
characterised by diversity of subject, tone and voice, by the authors' passion,
intelligence and deep commitment to their art.'

The Betty Trask Awards are given annually to the best
first novelists under the age of 35. Betty Trask left a bequest to the Society
of Authors in 1983 to celebrate young authors writing in a traditional or
romantic style. This year a total of £25,000 in prize money will be
distributed. Previous winners include Zadie Smith, Hari Kunzru and David
Szalay.

This year’s winner, to be announced at the SoA
Authors’ Awards on 20 June, will receive £10,000, while the other shortlisted
authors will each receive a Betty Trask Award worth £3,000. The Prize and
Awards will be presented by Ben Okri.